


After the Lonely Years

by daftalchemist



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Anal Sex, First Time, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Potential Spoilers, Sad Fluff, but still fluff, episode 29 tie-in, hinted omniscient being!Cecil, no tentacles this round, regular human dicks, you read that right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-21
Updated: 2013-08-21
Packaged: 2017-12-24 06:15:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/936382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daftalchemist/pseuds/daftalchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The subway affects Cecil far more deeply than his listeners know</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the Lonely Years

**Author's Note:**

> Beta thanks to sub3rduck (he knows who he is) who really liked this fic, and I hope the rest of you do as well. I've never done a canon tie-in with a fic before and here's to hoping no one thinks I fucked it up.

“Don’t take the subway to work today,” Cecil said in that tone of voice that suggested he was hiding a lot more information in a selection of innocuous words than was immediately obvious.

“Okay,” Carlos replied and sipped his coffee. Having coffee with Cecil at his apartment had become a tradition of sorts, though only since he’d realized the coffee served in Night Vale was nothing short of undrinkable, and his own coffee maker had started absorbing dark energies and was consequently brewing a little too strongly. “That shouldn’t be difficult seeing as how Night Vale doesn’t _have_ a subway.”

Cecil worried at his lower lip as he knitted his brow, that telltale sign meaning whatever words he’d just spoken were important and should be listened to, because no matter how ridiculous it sounded, it was real. Carlos had seen it a handful of times in the month since they’d started dating, had lived to regret ignoring it once, and had taken great caution to listen each subsequent time.

He placed his hand over Cecil’s and gave it a squeeze. “I won’t take the subway.”

He didn’t, but Cecil did. And despite sounding so calm about it upon returning to his microphone, Carlos could hear the almost imperceptible difference in his voice, the subtle change that spoke volumes of horror. So when Carlos received the text to meet him at the Arby’s, it took all of his strength to keep his heart from leaping far enough into his throat to choke him. It wasn’t a date, it never was. Arby’s was where they went when they were still _alive_ ; when one of them came face to face with one of Night Vale’s horrors and needed to let the other know they were still living, still okay, undamaged, unchanged.

Carlos’ heart was pounding against his ribs when he saw Cecil sitting on his car in a tiny island of light in the parking lot, huddled in on himself with his head hanging as though weariness was a physical entity sitting heavily on his shoulders and weighing him down. The feeling of anxiety didn’t abate until Carlos was standing before him, lifting his chin to look into his dark-ringed eyes, rubbing his thumbs against his cheeks. Cecil gave him an exhausted smile that was immediately swallowed in the wake of a shuddering breath and tears welling up in his eyes. Carlos immediately wrapped his arms around him, and Cecil returned the embrace, clutching him as though he was holding onto life itself, and they said nothing for some time.

“Why did you go?” Carlos asked him, cupping Cecil’s tear-stained cheeks in his hands.

“I had to,” Cecil replied.

“You didn’t!”

Cecil rolled his eyes in that way that signified Carlos wasn’t grasping some incredibly basic concept that should have been obvious enough for a child to grasp. It wasn’t. It never was.

“I had to tell them-” he began, but Carlos was sick of Cecil showing up broken and scarred in ways that weren’t physically visible, and even more sick of the excuses.

“You could have just warned them, like you warned me!” he shouted. “You don’t have an obligation to run off and try to get yourself killed every time something weird happens in Night Vale!”

Cecil smiled again, the kind of smile a parent gives to a small child trying to understand the world around them, and failing. “It’s different for them.”

“Like hell it is!”

Cecil merely averted his eyes in response, and Carlos sat on the hood of the car with a huff. He had understood that dating Cecil wouldn’t be easy going in. He had weird connections with the town, ones that couldn’t be explained by simply being an active member of the community, especially since Cecil wasn’t even that active in it! But it seemed like once a week Carlos was receiving a warning that Cecil didn’t even heed himself, and it was grating on him. He did so much worrying, and for what?

For _them_. Because despite how often Cecil had babbled excitedly about his love for Carlos on the air, the people of Night Vale still somehow took precedence over him, and it _frustrated_ him.

Cecil’s head on his shoulder and hand on his thigh dragged Carlos out of his own thoughts, and his anger dissipated when he saw those tired violet eyes staring longingly up at him.

“Take me home?” Cecil asked, and Carlos couldn't help but scoff at this man who had managed to drive himself to the Arby’s just fine and now expected Carlos to drive him home. As though he hadn’t just spent the night with a nagging worry gnawing at his gut because of Ceci’s antics. As though he would be even _remotely_ receptive to doing Cecil favors after that.

Cecil’s lips pressed against his neck brought him back to attention again. “Take me to bed?”

 _Oh_.

Well, that did substantially change his feelings about the request as they hadn’t slept together yet, though not for lack of interest. But Carlos had to admit he felt a little guilty being so excited about it while Cecil spent the ride back to his apartment in silence, dozing off once only to wake a moment later with a start, trying to hide the fact that he was breathing heavily. Carlos said nothing, however, because if Cecil wanted to shower him with forced smiles, ask for temporary comforts, and pretend he wasn’t hurting inside, then that was his choice, for the moment.  But if Cecil honestly expected Carlos not to ask him later about where he’d been, or why he’d gone after expressly telling him not to, he clearly didn’t know as much about the people in Night Vale as he believed he did.

It troubled Carlos to see how much difficulty Cecil had walking up the stairs to his apartment; how deeply his exhaustion ran, how pained his expression was, and yet how relieved he seemed just to be home as he draped his arms around Carlos’ neck, hanging from him loosely like a sheet. It was an especially appropriate comparison given how horribly pale Cecil was. Whatever he had gone through that night had not left him in one piece.

Carlos smoothed a hand over Cecil’s hair, and he groaned happily against Carlos’ chest, clinging tighter as he tried to keep himself upright. He was a mess, barely able to stand, breathing shallowly, and Carlos sighed to try to ease the concern roiling in his chest. He didn’t understand how Cecil could even _want_ to have sex given how worn out he was, or how he could think Carlos would really take advantage of him when he was obviously so damaged from whatever trauma he had faced.

Carlos swept Cecil’s legs out from under him, cradling him in his arms with ease despite him being a rather tall grown man, and Cecil nuzzled his nose into Carlos’ hair, humming contentedly.

“Is it time?” he asked, his words slurred ever so slightly.

“Yeah,” Carlos lied. “I’m taking you to bed, okay?”

That was less of a lie. He _was_ taking Cecil to bed, but his intention was to undress him, lay him underneath his blanket, and tuck him in, nothing more. Cecil, however, did not like that plan, and though he seemed to have already fallen asleep by the time Carlos laid his blanket over him, his hand shot out like a rocket from under the covers to grab Carlos’ wrist as he turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” he asked with a strained voice, violet eyes were wide open and full of panic.

Carlos sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand on his Cecil’s cheek. “I was going to go home. You need to rest.”

“No,” Cecil responded in a hushed voice before wrapping his arms around Carlos’ neck and shouting, “ _Please_!”

Carlos hesitantly returned the embrace, not knowing what to make of this sudden manic outburst. “Cecil...”

“ _NO_!” he bellowed, and Carlos could feel his body shaking, the dampness on his shoulder. “I was...I was gone.”

“I know,” Carlos replied, rubbing his back to comfort him. “I heard.”

“No!” Cecil cried as he pulled away to stare into Carlos’ eyes. “I was _gone_. I don’t know where, I...I think I felt eternity. I think I...I felt... _death_ , I...was so cold and alone and...I thought about you, _wished_ for you every _second_ , and...”

Carlos tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but failed. Cecil was gripping his arms so tightly, painfully, as tears rolled slowly down his cheeks.

“I...I haven’t seen you in...in _years_ ,” he sobbed, and Carlos clutched him to his chest.

“Okay, it’s okay,” he chanted as he gently rocked him. “I’m here now. It’s okay.”

“I don’t want you to go,” came Cecil’s muffled voice. “I want you to be with me and love me.”

“I _do_...love you,” Carlos replied, though it felt awkward to say it. He absolutely did love Cecil, but they’d only really been together for a month, and that would be far too early to say such things in any “normal” relationship. Ones where one participant wasn’t confessing their love from the first meeting, for instance.

Cecil cupped Carlos’ face in his hands and stared up into his eyes. “Then...please?”

Carlos nudged Cecil’s forehead with his own before whispering “yeah” and tilting his head in to kiss him. Cecil whimpered at the closeness and wrapped his limbs around Carlos, entwining him like a particularly needy snake, before settling back against the pillows, forcing Carlos to straddle him to continue the kiss.

It was tender and slow, their tongues sliding together lazily, as though they had all the time in the world for just this moment, and Carlos sort of hoped it would last that long. His dick was twitching anxiously at the thought of Cecil wanting him and at the sight of Cecil naked, his half-erect cock laying heavy against his stomach. But his eyes were rimmed with unknowable depths of fatigue, and his caresses were as soft as his breathing, and Carlos just didn’t feel right taking advantage of him like that, no matter how much Cecil wanted him to. Cecil groaned in frustration at Carlos’ rather obvious hesitation as he pushed the lab coat from his shoulders, barely managing to find the strength for such a simple task.

“Cecil…” Carlos murmured, trying to get his attention, wanting to know this was truly okay so maybe the guilt stirring in the pit of his stomach might disappear. But Cecil was too consumed with grumbling and worrying at Carlos’ tie and button down to notice his hesitation.

“You need to take these off,” he said almost petulantly as he gestured to Carlos’ outfit.

Carlos smiled softly. “You don’t want to unwrap me yourself?”

Cecil hunched forward with a frustrated sigh and pouted up at Carlos. “I...I’m just...tired right now.”

Carlos pressed a hand to his cheek and kissed his forehead. “All of it?”

“Yes.”

“Even the tie?”

Cecil gave him an adorably crooked grin. “Well... _that_ can stay, I guess.”

Carlos had to admit this was a rather endearing side of Cecil, as wrong as that felt given the circumstances. But he was open and uninhibited in a way that was remarkably subdued, and it filled Carlos with such an incredible want to please him, to care for all of his needs and then some. But the _guilt_ …

That was when Carlos came up with a wonderful compromise.

“Do you have supplies?” he asked as he removed his shirt, and Cecil pointed at the bedside table in response. Carlos kicked off his shoes and socks before scrounging through the drawer. “Why do you have three nearly empty bottles of lube in here?”

“Because, Carlos,” Cecil began, his voice heavy with frustration that only someone still up long past when they should have gone to bed could pull off, “it took you a _year_ to become interested in me.”

“All right, all right,” Carlos said gently, tossing one of the bottles on the bed before placating his boyfriend by slowly, teasingly pulling off his jeans, overjoyed by the tiny smile that touched Cecil’s lips.

“Well I’ve caught up now,” he said as he crawled onto the bed, crowding close to Cecil and kissing him deeply. “I hope the wait is worth it.”

Cecil placed a hand on his cheek, fighting back the tears welling up in his eyes as he whispered “Carlos”, and laid himself down against the pillows, spreading his legs in preparation.

But Carlos pressed his lube-slicked fingers into himself instead, gasping softly as he wriggled them about, stretching himself open.

“Wh...what are you doing?” Cecil asked as he sat upright, eyes wide and pupils blown. “I thought you were…”

Carlos bit his lip and smiled, leaning in for a quick kiss as he pushed deeper into himself. “Just watch.”

Carlos brushed against his prostate and shuddered as he moaned, and that was all it took for Cecil to immediately push aside the fact that it wasn’t what he had asked for, because it was perfect just the same. He palmed at Carlos’ dick, and Carlos groaned loudly and rested his forehead on Cecil’s shoulder as he pressed one last finger inside him, relishing the sweet burn of being stretched before gently pulling his fingers out and running them up Cecil’s cock. Cecil whimpered at the touch, canting his hips upward into Carlos’ grasp, and Carlos’ dick twitched appreciatively for how eager Cecil was for him.

“Are you ready?” Carlos asked as he nudged Cecil back against the pillows.

“Are _you_?” Cecil asked, incredulously. “You didn’t take much time to prepare.”

Carlos grinned wildly as he positioned himself over Cecil’s cock. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

Cecil’s eyes flew wide open as Carlos sank down around him, his breath coming in a strangled whine. Carlos leaned forward and drew him into a deep kiss, taking a moment to just enjoy how wonderful it felt to be stuffed full of _Cecil_ , after all this time.

“It didn’t take me a _year_ to become interested in you,” he whispered huskily against Cecil’s lips, and Cecil whimpered response quickly grew into a loud moan as Carlos began rolling his hips.

The reactions Carlos was wringing out of Cecil were _gorgeous_ as he increased the speed of his thrusts. Cecil sobbed against Carlos’ chest, clinging so tightly to him, needing to be closer to him, closer than being balls deep in the scientist could bring him. Carlos gripped Cecils’ hands in his own and brought them up to his hair, and Cecil held onto his locks for dear life as he shallowly thrusted his hips into him, too exhausted to do much more than that. Carlos placed a steadying hand on his waist as he licked and sucked along his jaw, stopping at his ear.

“Relax,” he whispered. “Let me take care of you.”

Cecil whined but stopped pushing himself, and Carlos’ whole body burned with how glad he felt. Glad that Cecil wasn’t going to break himself trying to fuck him, glad that he was finally able to have Cecil inside him, and glad for each time the head of Cecil’s cock brushed against his prostate.

Cecil was rapidly coming undone, too tired to keep up the pace for much longer but awake enough to think to wrap a hand around Carlos and pump him in time with each roll of his hips. Carlos moaned in appreciation and thrust upwards, alternating between stuffing himself on Cecil’s cock and fucking his fist, all the while drinking in the look of blind adoration on the radio host’s face as searing hot tension pooled in his groin, and blinding white lights filled his vision, and he cried Cecil’s name as he came, splattering his hand and chest with strings of cum. Cecil followed soon after, keening as Carlos tightened around him, thrusting raggedly through his orgasm and letting the scientist milk him dry before collapsing against the bed panting, eyes heavy with exhaustion.

Carlos couldn’t see any tissues or towels nearby, so he used his lab coat to clean them up, not caring about the mess he’d have to clean off of it later. He was more interested in watching the look of contentment on Cecil’s face, at the way he seemed a little more whole than he had earlier that evening. Carlos pressed a hand to Cecil’s cheek and rubbed his thumb against his flushed skin.

“Will you stay?” Cecil asked, voice breathy and words slurred. He’d be falling asleep momentarily, Carlos knew.

“Of course,” he replied and gave him a quick kiss before snuggling under the covers next to him, and for once Cecil was the one who slept peacefully while Carlos only pretended to get any rest. The night may have ended well enough, but the events that lead up to it still weighed on his mind. They had to be discussed.

Cecil woke someone in the middle of the night, sweating and breathing heavily, calming only when he felt Carlos’ arms slide around him.

“The subway,” Carlos said matter-of-factly, and in the dim light from the street lamps he could see Cecil slowly nod his head in response. “Why did you go? You warned _me_ and then...why are your listeners more important than me?”

Cecil ran the back of his hand along Carlos’ cheek, and Carlos wished he hadn’t because he probably felt the tears slowly trickling down his cheeks.

“They aren’t,” he said. “It’s just different for them.”

“ _How_?”

Carlos could see the edges of his sad smile in the dim light. “You’re an outsider. You _decided_ to come here and adjusted. You know there’s a world out there that’s...better, in some ways. Different. _Normal_. They don’t. They’ve always been here, and always will be.”

Cecil cupped Carlos’ face in his hands. “They need someone to tell them all of the terrible things they experience are okay. They need a comforting voice to go through it with them, to come out alive, to tell them stories and keep them sane.”

“But why _you_?” Carlos asked, understanding but not feeling even a little comforted by his explanation.

Cecil worried at his lip, and Carlos almost wanted to scream because just this _once_ he wanted Cecil to see his point of view instead of simply deciding that his words were as unchangeable as if they’d been carved in stone.

“It’s just...always been that way,” Cecil said at length.

“For how long?”

Cecil folded his hands in his lap as he averted his eyes, and a nauseating realization settled heavy in Carlos’ gut.

“What _are_ you?” he asked, voice tinged more with worry than fear.

Cecil didn’t respond. He just stared at his hands, either unwilling to tell Carlos the answer to the question or afraid of how he would react if he knew. Carlos sighed and placed his hand over Cecil’s and gave it a squeeze.

“Look,” he said, voice soft and kind. “I don’t actually _care_ what you are; I’m just curious. I’m a scientist, remember?”

The corners of Cecil’s mouth quirked upwards into an almost imperceptible smile. “I remember.”

Carlos pulled Cecil into his lap. “And I understand your obligation to the people of Night Vale. I do.”

Cecil rested his head against Carlos’ shoulder.

“But I also wish you wouldn’t put yourself in danger all the time,” he continued. “I _worry_ about you, Cecil. You come back broken and scarred and…”

He trailed off, feeling himself growing increasingly more upset by the second, and didn’t want to get carried away.

“Just...don’t do it as often,” he said. “Can you at least do that? For me? Please.”

Cecil was silent for a while, either lost in thought or avoiding answering entirely. Carlos began to despair, not looking forward to having to see his boyfriend showing up at Arby’s shaken to the core every other week, but Cecil’s arms wrapping around pulled him out of his mind.

“Okay,” Cecil said. “I won’t put myself in harm’s way as often.”

“Really?” Carlos asked, hardly believing his luck. “Just like that?”

“Carlos,” Cecil drawled in that way that always sent a shiver down his spine. “I’ve waited _years_ to be with you again. I don’t mind making a small sacrifice to be with you for years to come.”


End file.
